


Venom Runs Through Him

by TheGodofSmut



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Character Death, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 05:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14371674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGodofSmut/pseuds/TheGodofSmut
Summary: Before she met him, Mari was an innocent young flower starting to blossom in the world. Beautiful and lively. Then he came along, and picked her for himself.





	1. Prologue

"Come along now, dear." A mermaid said to her child, ushering her to swim beside her. The young mermaid churned her tail and caught up to her mother. "You need to stay by me. The ocean is full of predators."

The moment the mother said that, a large creature had shown itself, lurking nearby, and it started heading towards them. The mermaid looked around in the water and spotted a cave below them.

"Swim to the cave down below. I'll come back for you once I deal with this." The daughter nodded and swam as fast as she could to the cave. Her mother turned to the beast, who was now drifting in front of her. 

It was even larger up close, a long muscular neck with a block shaped head, glowing eyes with slit pupils and a mouth of jagged teeth. Its body added more length, giant limbs with webbed hands slowly moving and a long tail. Webbed spines ran from the neck to the tail. 

The mermaid musters up her confidence. "Come on! I'm not going down without a fight!"

She pulls out a spear that she carved out of whale bones and holds it in front of her. The monster isn't scared; one could say that amusement flashed in its eyes. Nonetheless, she grips the spear right and grits her teeth. 

She swims forward and jabs the spear into the monster's snout and it lets out a deep moan. Furious now, the monster reaches its big hands to its nose to knock the spear off. As it does, the mermaid swims away, and it follows after her, pushing its arms and legs to swim. 

She moves her tail as fast as possible. The monster is right behind her. Her daughter watches in fear from the cave. It catches up to her and opens its mouth, the empty space sucking water and the mermaid in. The monster snaps its jaws shut. A swift ending. 

The young mermaid is appalled, shock leaving her frozen. Her mother sacrificed herself so her daughter would be safe. The monster slowly swims off, disappearing into the depths. 

In the distance, humpback whales sing their songs to the ocean.


	2. Captured

Mari chews her lip as she looks up at the rippling sunlight. She grins eagerly and swims upwards, poking her head above the water. She always likes to see what's above. Just watch out for seagulls. 

She glances around and dives back underwater, swimming to the coral reef. Another mermaid is waiting there. Vanessa. Mari's closest friend. Maybe even only. 

The two look so different from each other. Mari, with soft peach skin, long brown hair, a tail with shimmering green tail. Vanessa, with pale skin, short black hair, a tail that's black but when in the sunlight, shines like an iridescent rainbow. Such contrasting differences that make them beautiful. 

"Why do you like looking up at the surface world so much?" Vanessa asked, looking at the small fish darting around in the coral. 

"I like to look up at the sky. It gets really pretty at night." Mari replied, smiling at her friend. 

 "Eh, I guess." Vanessa shrugged. 

 "Well, what do you like to look at?" Mari asked. 

"Mostly caves. Never know what you'll find in one." She smiles. An idea forms. "You wanna go find one?" 

 Mari shares her friend's enthusiasm. "Sure, is there any nearby?" 

 "Probably. C'mon, let's go." Vanessa starts swimming away from the reef and Mari goes with her. They travel for a little bit, swimming leisurely and looking at the fish pass by. 

 "Ever heard of the Sea King?" Vanessa asked.

 Mari looks up from a parrot fish. "Who's the Sea King?"

 "Some dude by the name King Nereus or something. He's like, the king of the whole Atlantic." 

 "I've never heard of him until you said it." Mari said. 

 "Probably cause you live under a rock." Vanessa smirked. 

 "Hah hah, very funny." Mari said with friendly sarcasm.

 "Seriously though, that dude has a huge castle. I wanna go there and see it for real." 

"Let's do it." Mari suggested. 

 Vanessa smiles and playfully punches her friend. "Yeah, alright."

 They change direction and swim towards where they think the Atlantean king's castle is. They just don't know where. A castle among a shit ton of water. You'll be searching a long time for this place. 

 "I don't even know if this is the way." Vanessa said as she looks around. 

 "I don't even know where we are." Mari added.

 "Maybe this was a bad idea."

 Mari frowns and looks behind, then faces Vanessa. "No. Let's keep going."

 "Are you sure?" Her friend asked. 

 "Yeah. It's here. We just have to find it." Mari flicks her tail and swims forward. Vanessa swims after her and comes beside her. 

 As they swim, they enter an area with tall columns and caves of rock. A handful of seaweed and coral are scattered along the seabed. 

 "I'm getting a weird feeling..." Vanessa said quietly as she glances around. 

 "I am, too." Mari and Vanessa slow down and drift in spot as they look. Schools of fish and a couple crabs scuttling about. Nothing to be afraid of. They relax a little. 

A head pokes out from behind a rock. It might be another mermaid. Mari spots it and cautiously approaches. 

 "Um, hi? Do you...know where we are?" She asked. The head's eyes blink and suddenly give rise to a skinny body and a long tail. It looks like a mermaid, but it has no fins? And the scales overlap. The tail is also unusually long for a mermaid. 

The pseudo-mermaid looks at Mari with glowing yellow eyes. Mari slowly backs away, and the mermaid opens it mouth, revealing long, needle fangs. It hisses, like steam coming out of a vent. 

_That is not a mermaid._

More of them pop their heads from behind the rocks and reveal skinny bodies with long scaly tails. Opening their mouths and hissing loudly, they go after Mari. She yells out and swims away, dragging Vanessa with her. 

"What are those things?!" Vanessa shouted. 

"I-I don't know!" Mari replied, risking a glance back. The things move fast through the water, their tails rippling behind them. 

 "Oh my Neptune!" Vanessa yelled when more appear in front of them. They're surrounded by them, the things getting closer and closing any breaches in their circle. They mutter words to each other.

"Fresh meat!" 

"Yesss yesss, meat for uss!"

"We should bring them home!"

One of them silences the rest with a hiss. A female. She has very pale skin almost the color of white, as well as her long hair. Her arms and down her belly to the tip of her tail has shiny black scales. A black headdress sits upon her head, probably indicating some royal connection. 

 She approaches the two mermaids. "A little lost from home, aren't we?" There is venom in her voice, like some untold hatred that's within her. 

 "Pl-Please, we were just leaving." Mari said, clasping her webbed hands together. 

 "Sorry, my dear, but we haven't seen any life around here for quite a while. My brethren have been starving. And when all hope seemed lost, the gods have sent the two of you to feed our hunger." She answered, her grin showing off her fangs. 

"B-But that sounds so messed up, just eat fish o-or something!" Vanessa cried out. There are yells of protest from the group. 

"Oh,  _fish!_ They're so disgusting, they make us gag!" The pseudo-mermaid brings her arm to her forehead in fake distress. "Mermaid meat tastes so much better, don't you agree? Well, of course you dont, you're a mermaid." 

 "Just get to the point, please." Mari mumbled. 

 "You two are coming with us." When she announces it, the rest of the group yell in approval. "Any other questions?"

 "What in Neptune are you things?" Vanessa asked angrily. The she-beast glares at her and then a big, twisted smile appears. 

 "It varies with culture. Naga, lamia. You may have heard of Echidna and Medusa. Not part of our family but noteworthy examples. Come along now, it's time for feasting!" She claps her hands and Mari and Vanessa are restrained by clawed hands. The she-beast leads the way and the others follow, taking the poor mermaids to their doom.


	3. Imprisoned

The Naga lead Mari and Vanessa to a large shipwreck site. The ship is tilted in its side, somewhat buried in the sand. It's covered in algae and barnacles. Fish swim in and around the ship. 

The female slithers easily into the the ship via a broken window. When the others lead the two mermaids in, their flanks scrape against the broken glass. Luckily, it didn't break the skin. 

The serpents swim through the ship's corridor to what used to be the dining hall. Most of the stuff is still intact. Chairs and tables sit around covered in algae and microscopic organisms. The chandelier on the ceiling looks mostly preserved. 

Mari gulps as she takes in the sight. She glances over to Vanessa. The serpents stop in front of a large group of even more. At the center was a male, with the same pale white skin as the female and black wavy hair. The female swims up to him. 

 "Zach." She announced.

The male, Zach, regards her with a questionable look. "What's this you've brought here?" 

 "We found these mermaids out by the rock caves. They should help with our shortage of food." The female answered. Zach narrows his dark eyes and looks to Mari and Vanessa, seeming satisfied with what they found. 

 The other snakes yell and cheer, the most notable words being food and eat. Zach looks at them and back to the mermaids. Mari looks right back at him. She can't look away; his appearance is just so intimidating. His face is sharp, with a pointed chin and prominent cheekbones. His nose is short, his lips thin with two fangs protruding out. His eyes are the main contribution. They're like two white pin-pricks in a black void. Mari's never seen eyes like that.

 Zach catches her looking and winks those eyes of death. She looks away, not wanting to be noticed. He looks amused, and the corners of his mouth tug. He silences the rest with swish of his tail. That tail has a sharp barb, like a harpoon hook. It works. 

 "On behalf of our beautiful mother and queen, I say...we eat!" He points a long claw at Vanessa. "This young morsel right here! Tell us, what's your name, so we know who to thank for relieving our hunger?" 

 Vanessa struggles against the serpent holding her. "Go suck a sea cucumber."

 Zach sneers to his fellow snakes. Suddenly, the deadly tail he used to silence the crowd was now pointing threateningly at her neck. "Watch your pretty little fish mouth, or I will rip it off." 

Vanessa bites her tongue and grudgingly complies. He turns to Mari, and gets too close for her comfort. His nose brushes against her hair and sniffs, grinning. She cringed and shuts her eyes. He backs off, still smiling, and turns to the female. 

 "Take the mermaids to the ship's cellar. I'm going off to speak to Mother." He muttered to her.

 "Whatever you say, captain." She mumbles sarcastically and snaps her fingers. The snakes holding the mermaids take them away, and Zach slithers out another way. 

The serpents throw Mari and Vanessa inside the cellar and locks them in. Vanessa swims to the door and bangs her fists in it. 

 "Hey! Let us out!" She shouted. Mari goes to her and places a hand on her shoulder. 

 "It's not going to work, Vanessa." She said. Vanessa looks at her, her eyes nearly brimming with tears. 

 "I...I know..." She said. Mari pulls her into a hug and rubs her back. 

Meanwhile, Zach slinks his way into one of the ship's cabins. It used to be a first-class room. It's like everywhere else on the ship now. There is another female Naga laying on the bed with her tail coiled. Her skin is a light green-brown and her hair is dark brown. She has golden jewelry on her neck, wrists, waist, and tail. 

She looks up to Zach with her gold eyes, waiting for him to explain his presence.

"Mother, we've found mermaids to satisfy our hunger." He said, pressing his fingertips against each other. 

 "Go on." She replied. 

 "If it's no trouble with you, I'd like one of them as my own." He said, giving his mother an innocent smile, like a child. 

His mother contemplates, and reaches her decision. "My boy, you may take her. Make sure she doesn't cause trouble." 

 "I won't disappoint you, Mother." Zach said, letting himself out. He passes a few Naga down the hall, and they're blocking his way. Compared to him, they're bigger and stronger. He looks at them with a fidgety expression. "Is there something troubling you, my brothers?" 

The biggest out of them claws his face, leaving fresh bleeding wounds on his cheek. He doesn't flinch. "Shut up. We all know you're Mommy's  _favorite_. Little mama's boy. What'd you ask her for now, you piece of shit?" 

 Zach bites his lip and reaches his hand to touch the cuts. He holds back his wince. 

 "Is the little baby gonna cry? You gonna run to Mommy to kiss your boo-boo?" The bigger serpent taunts. Zach narrows his eyes and without a word, the barbed tail impales through the other's body out his back and pulled out. He rises up to his brother's face and gently places a hand on his cheek.

 "Are you going to go to Mother? What will you tell her? 'I attacked him, and he fought back!' It's not self-defense, it's taking what shall be mine, and you, brother, are getting in my way." He said quietly. His other brothers, in fear of being attacked, slither away. 

 A big cloud of blood from the serpent's wound reddens the water around them. The serpent can feel himself slowly bleeding to death. Zach knows and squeezes his brother's cheeks.

 "It's a shame that I'll lose a family member. I'll be sure to pay my respects at your funeral." He hissed, and pushed the other away, swimming off to the dining hall. His brother dies outside their mother's cabin within a couple of minutes. 


	4. Bound

"What will we do, Mari?" Vanessa asked, turning her head to face her. Mari sits on the cellar floor hugging her tail to her chest. 

 "I don't know..." She mumbles, hiding her face . 

 "Can't they just...get it over with? Make it swift. It's bad enough keeping us locked in a cellar like this..." Vanessa huffed. 

 "The...the one serpent..." Mari whispered. "He looked at me...with such dark eyes, I've never seen. I could smell him. Like...metal and sand." 

 "He's gonna do something to you, Mari. I know guys like him." Vanessa said, putting her hand on Mari's hair and stroking it. 

The cellar door becomes unlocked and opens. Two Naga come through and grab the mermaids, pushing them out to the dining hall. Serpents sit at the old tables staring at them with wide, hungry eyes. Zach and the female who brought them here are drifting in the back of the room. Their mother sits upon a bigger chair, overlooking the room. 

When he sees they're here, Zach grins and slithers towards the center. "Brothers and sisters, it's been awhile since we've had a decent meal. Just when we had lost hope, we've been blessed with these two  _delicious_  morsels." 

 His words stir the crowd, getting them excited. Silver-tongued bastard. He could talk his way out of anything with his looks and charisma. Mari looks away, not even bothering to resist now. 

 Then the twist. 

 "But I'm afraid to say that only  _one_  will be sacrificed for our needs." He said, folding his hands together. It shocks the crowd, putting them into confused anger. "I know, I know. But a future king does need a queen." He sets his gaze on Mari. 

 She can't believe what she's hearing. She and Vanessa look to each other. The rest of the serpents can't believe it either, but they don't dare try to oppose. News spread about the murder of their brother. Mother dumped him outside the ship like she always does. 

Satisfied with the situation, Zach points to Vanessa. "Bring the mermaid here. I'd like to commence the feast with Mother having the first bite." 

 The Naga holding Vanessa pushes her toward Zach, and Mari struggles to get free. 

 "Wait, stop! Please, don't kill her!" She yelled. Zach tilts his head upward and after a moment of silence puts his hand up. 

 "I must feed my siblings. We're a growing family, you know." He said.

 "Well- ...couldn't you find something else?! Please, Zach! Please, let us live!" Mari cried out. He stares at her lazily and considers her pleas.

 "Oh, alright. You twisted my tail. Shibu, Petrikov, let them be." He waves his hand dismissively and the serpents let Mari and Vanessa free.

"Does...this mean we can leave?" Mari asked cautiously. It earns an unsettling bit of laughter from him. 

 "You will stay here, or I will personally see to it your friend won't be." He said so casually, like it's an everyday conversation. Mari frowns but just accepts his ultimatum.

"Yes, sir." She mumbles.

"Excellent! You're betrothed to me now so you must know the major members of this family. Uh, you can go." Zach waves at Vanessa and wraps his muscular arm around Mari's waist. She flinched, but he doesn't seem to notice, or he just doesn't care. He leads her to their mother. "Queen Tiamat, our mother and the current queen of the Kobara Clan, one of the most powerful of the Naga clans." 

 "Hi." Mari said quietly, not bothering to wave. Tiamat regards her with a sly smile. Zach leads her away. 

 "Mother and I are the only reason you two are still alive." He whispered in her webbed ear. She didn't comment on this. He takes her to the female serpent who had brought her and Vanessa here. "This is my sister, Cora. She's our clan's best fighter and leads the hunting party." 

"Hello, little fishy." Cora grins at her. Zach smiles too. They look so much alike, the same gothic-pale appearance and cruel personality. 

"This way, my lovely queen. You won't be sleeping in that cellar anymore." He takes her to one of the first-class cabins. This one is his. 

 She swims in, looking around at her new room. It's covered in less algae than the rest of the ship. There's a wooden dresser that's rotting with a mirror that has a crack down the center. The bed is a queen-size with something jutting out from underneath. She crouches and sees the skeleton of a long dead mermaid, and screams. 

 "Oh yeah, I forgot I had that..." Zach said as he rubbed his fingertips over the claw marks on his face. 

 "I don't want to stay in here, please!" She yelled. She tries to swim out, but she gets wrapped up in those long arms of his and his face presses against her hair.

 "Hush, baby, I'll get rid of it." He whispered. She shuts her eyes and waits for him to let go. Her silent prayers come true and he slinks out the room. Mari cries out in frustration and clenches her teeth, suppressing the urge to sob. 

Zach hovers close beside Cora. "How are things with the Midnight Zone?"  

 "We're getting close with them. Soon they'll be on our side. " She said quietly, only for him to hear.

 "Excellent. And the Pistris Clan?" 

 "We've successfully got them on our side." She answered. 

 "Very good. Soon we will make our move. Do not do anything until I give the order." He glances behind his shoulder, making sure nobody was eavesdropping. 

 "I still think this is a dangerous game to play, especially since we're keeping this secret." 

 He bears his fangs in frustration and takes a deep breath to regain his composure. "Think of it as a surprise. For the entire ocean." 

 Cora thinks his words over. "If we get in trouble, I'm not helping you out of it." 

 "Since when have I needed help to get out of a problem." He stated more rather than asked with a head swaggle. 

 "Uh-huh, sure." His sister muttered. 


	5. Alone

The little mermaid swims slowly through the water, too numb to admire the colorful fish and coral. She swims inside a small crevice in the reef, just big enough to fit her, to hide from the world. 

She watches with tired eyes at the fish who dart around, doing their own thing. She sees a moray eel poke its pointed head out of its own hole, and it wriggles its long body out. 

Using the eel for her inspiration, she leaves her crevice and swims above the reef. She's a bit frightened, frequently checking around. 

"Hello." A voice said. She turns to meet the one who spoke. It's another young mermaid. She's drifting there with her hands behind her back and her tail swaying. 

 "H-Hello..." She replies, and the new mermaid shies away. 

 "Are you okay?" The mermaid asked. 

 "No..." She said, gazing down. 

 "I'm not either..." 

 "Why are you sad?" 

 "Why are  _you_  sad?" 

She flinches at the question. The memories are still fresh. "My-My mommy got eaten..." 

 "Oh..." The other said. "My parents said they would be back, but it's been a few days..." 

 "I don't know my daddy. He left. I'm all alone." She said as she sadly spun around. 

The other mermaid's eyes widened. "I'm alone, too. Can we be alone together?" 

 "Okay." She answered, and they hung around the reef, spending their lonesome with each other. 


	6. Lotus

A few days have passed since Mari and Vanessa were forced to stay in Kobara Clan's ship. They're still not used to staying there, and they probably never will. 

Zach is acting nicer than he had the first day, but Mari doesn't trust him. Not yet. It doesn't help that she must stay in certain places and he is usually gone most of the time, saying "he's taking care of something" or "he'll be back".

The Naga always scowl at Mari and Vanessa when they see them. The only ones that don't are Tiamat, Cora, and obviously Zach. They still don't understand why they're the subject of ridicule here. 

The death of Zach's brother isn't entirely new in the clan. There has always been death in their family. Feuds between siblings, playfighting turned extreme. It happens so often that death is normal.

The most deaths were caused by Zach himself. He's always been the troublemaker. It's caused him to obtain a reputation in the clan. Don't make Zach angry or he'll gut you, they whisper among themselves. 

Tiamat stays out of the affairs of her children. She's a different kind of mother than there usually are. She doesn't bother to step in when they fight or give them that needed motherly love. Scratch that- she only gives  _one_  of her children her kind of maternal love. That child is Zach. Her special little snowflake.

Mari shifts uncomfortably as she's pulled close against Zach's side. He mumbles his attempts of comforting words in her thinly webbed ear. He's not used to being... _delicate_. 

 "Are you going to leave again?" She asked.

A smirk grows on his face. "Did you want me to stay with you?"

"N-No, it's just that...you usually leave by now..." Mari replied.

"I guess I could hold off on my business for you." Zach said, tracing his claws down her cheek to her neck. 

 "You would...actually do that...?" She asked, surprised by his statement. 

 "Oh, I would do anything for you, my little lotus flower." He said, wrapping his long, thin fingers around her throat and pressing his face into her neck. She doesn't cringe or pull away anymore, but she still gets that tense feeling on her mind. 

 "A lotus flower?" 

 "Oh, yes. A flower that lives on water. Smooth petals and soft colors."

 "They sound very lovely."

 "Not as much as you, my dear." Zach brushes his lips on her skin and plants a kiss there. His lips are cold, just like the rest of his body. It sends a shiver down her spine.

 "What do you do when you leave?" Mari asked. She decides it's the perfect time to get some information out of him.

"That is none of your concern. You don't need to worry about that." He said.  

_That's what you want me to believe._

"Is it really important that you need to leave me here by myself everyday?"

 Zach chuckles. "Is somebody a little deprived of my attention?"

  _Keep dreaming._

 "Is it wrong to say that I am?" Mari asked.

 "Not at all, my dear." He grinned. 

 "It must be super secret that you don't want me to know." 

 "Darling, it's a surprise gift for you and every one in the big blue."

 "What kind of gift?"

 "The best kind. You'll love it. Everyone else will love it. You just have to be patient." 

"I'm not so good at being patient..." Mari leans against his body and strokes her hand down his defined chest. 

 Zach smiles widely and slides his hands up her sides to her upper body and grasps her breasts. He flicks his forked tongue on her skin and kisses her neck and shoulder. She wraps her arms around his neck and gazes into his dark eyes seductively.

 "What's the gift?" She whispered softly.

 He looks back into her eyes and she wants to get as far away as possible. He forcefully pushes her onto her back, pinning her arms down above her head with one hand. He brings his other hand up and grabs her face, squeezing her cheeks. She can feel his claws dig into her skin.

 "I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work. You're swimming in a sea of mines, little girl." Zach pushes Mari away and looks down at her with contempt before leaving. She gets up and gently touches her cheeks. 

"Damn..."


End file.
